title: Effects of training attendance on muscle strength of young men after 11 weeks of resistance training.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Training attendance is an important variable for attaining optimal results after a resistance training (RT) program, however, the association of attendance with the gains of muscle strength is not well defined. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to verify if attendance would affect muscle strength gains in healthy young males.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety two young males with no previous RT experience volunteered to participate in the study. RT was performed 2 days a week for 11 weeks. One repetition maximum (1RM) in the bench press and knee extensors peak torque (PT) were measured before and after the training period. After the training period, a two step cluster analysis was used to classify the participants in accordance to training attendance, resulting in three groups, defined as high (92 to 100%), intermediate (80 to 91%) and low (60 to 79%) training attendance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to the results, there were no significant correlations between strength gains and training attendance, however, when attendance groups were compared, the low training attendance group showed lower increases in 1RM bench press (8.8%) than the other two groups (17.6% and 18.0% for high and intermediate attendance, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although there is not a direct correlation between training attendance and muscle strength gains, it is suggested that a minimum attendance of 80% is necessary to ensure optimal gains in upper body strength.
authors.affiliation: College of Physical Education, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil College of Health Science, University of Brasilia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gentil
authors.forename: Martim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bottaro
keywords: Bench Press; Compliance; Knee Extensors; Peak Torque; Resistance Exercise; Strength Training